Have they no shame?

It never ceases to amaze us that so many people are so eager to post on the Internet so many regrettable things, including embarrassing information about themselves that they would never consider making public otherwise.

Somehow, the social media frenzy that has seized so many people has lulled them into the mindless expectation of something approaching anonymity when it comes to putting things on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other online sites.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

The police have long since become adept at mining these sites for information about criminal behavior, as more than a few boastful thugs have found out the hard way.

And thousands of teen-agers addicted to advertising their exploits online have learned that there are often consequences for their lack of discretion. These can range from being expelled from school, to being denied college admission to being arrested for some well-documented dopey prank.

Stupidity is an occupational hazard for criminals and kids, perhaps, so their willingness to broadcast their idiocy comes as no surprise.

But how about someone who has endured the training it takes to become a member of the U.S. Secret Service or a high-ranking government official? You’d think such people would be more circumspect.

Not David Randall Cheney.

He’s one of about a dozen Secret Service agents accused of having indulged in a genuine bacchanal with lots of booze and prostitutes in Colombia in advance of President Obama’s recent trip to South America.

That scandal brought a national focus upon him, and, sure enough, it turns out our friend Mr. Cheney, Secret Service agent, has a Facebook page. His profile photo is of him standing behind Sarah Palin, whom he was assigned to protect when she ran for vice president in 2008.

His clever caption: “I was really checking her out, if you know what I mean?”

He’s such a wit he couldn’t help himself, we suppose.

And then we have Jeffrey Neely, the Pacific regional commissioner of the General Services Administration. That’s the same GSA that was recently exposed as having blown more than $820,000 of taxpayer money on a lavish four-day cocktail party - er, “working conference” - in a luxurious Las Vegas hotel in 2010.

It was bon vivant Mr. Nelly who decreed this “conference” should be “over the top.”

Mr. Neely has pleaded the Fifth Amendment at recent congressional hearings investigating the scandal, but was all smiles when his wife, who accompanied him on this junket, took his picture drinking wine in a hot tub at the Las Vegas hotel pool. Of course, this photo was still posted online as the scandal was breaking.

As could be asked of all the other people who post things they shouldn’t online, “Have they no shame?”